The pop singer, who completes his 21-night run of gigs at London's O2 Arena on September 21, has launched a legal bid against the video-sharing giant after unauthorised live footage of his London concerts appeared on , in an attempt to "reclaim his art on the internet".
According to Prince's representatives, the singer has chosen to take action "not just for himself, but for all artists in the digital age". Prince's legal team has hired Web Sheriff, a UK-based internet rights company, to issue "take down" notices to companies that have allowed footage of his gigs to be screened online.
The action was brought about after fans broke the concert rules by recording and posting clips from his shows at the O2 Arena on YouTube, which is accused of failing to filter out unauthorised content.
Action will also be taken against eBay and PirateBay over items, including key chains and mugs, which were deemed to "bear Prince's likeness" but were not sanctioned as official merchandise, being available online.
The legal action is the latest one against YouTube over copyright violations by various media and entertainment companies, including Universal Music Group, the Football Association and Viacom.
Viacom launched a $1bn lawsuit against the video portal in March after claiming that more than 160,000 unauthorised clips from its programmes, including 'South Park' and 'The Daily Show' appeared online without its permission.
Prince's decision to sue YouTube follows an outcry from music retailers after he gave away his latest album 'Planet Earth' in the Mail on Sunday in July. The singer attracted strong criticism from Virgin Megastore and HMV, which condemned the action as "opportunistic" and "devaluing of music".
A spokesperson for Prince said: "Prince believes strongly that as an artist the music rights must remain with the artist and thus copyrights should be protected across the board. Very few artists have ever taken this kind of action over their rights, yet Prince has showed time and again he is ready to challenge the system in new ways to put artists and music first."
John Giacobbi, managing director of Web Sheriff, said: "Prince feels very strongly about how his art is perceived and he doesn't want it remembered as grainy mobile footage from the back of the stadium."
YouTube has yet to respond publicly to the action.
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